Silver Prices Hit Record High as Safe-Haven Demand Surges Amid U.S. Economic Uncertainty 
Gold and Silver Surge as Safe Haven Demand Rises on U.S. Economic Uncertainty 
South Korea Warns Weak Won Could Push Inflation Higher in 2025 
U.S. Dollar Slips Near Two-Month Low as Markets Await Key Jobs Data and Central Bank Decisions 
Singapore Growth Outlook Brightens for 2025 as Economists Flag AI and Geopolitical Risks 
Japan Exports to U.S. Rebound in November as Tariff Impact Eases, Boosting BOJ Rate Hike Expectations 
Bank of Japan Poised for Historic Rate Hike as Inflation Pressures Persist 
Asian Stocks Slide as Central Bank Decisions and Key Data Keep Investors Cautious 
Korea Zinc to Build $7.4 Billion Critical Minerals Refinery in Tennessee With U.S. Government Backing 
RBA Unlikely to Cut Interest Rates in 2026 as Inflation Pressures Persist, Says Westpac 
New Zealand’s second-quarter annual consumer price inflation (CPI) bounced back, albeit missing market estimates, while the q/q rate fell in comparison to the previous reading in the first quarter. Following this, the NZD/USD currency pair rose nearly 0.75 percent during European session Tuesday, trading 0.68371 at the time of writing.
Headline CPI rose 0.4 percent q/q in Q2, which was below consensus expectations (0.5 percent) and this saw annual inflation pick up to 1.5 percent y/y from 1.1 percent in Q1. Tradable prices rose 0.3 percent q/q (0.1 percent y/y), while non-tradable prices rose 0.4 percent q/q (2.5 percent y/y). It was the strength in non-tradables inflation that proved to be the biggest surprise.
But there were some offsets. Broadly as expected, the food group rose 0.8 percent q/q and petrol prices rose 3.2 percent q/q. The latter reflecting recent NZD weakness and higher oil prices. Petrol will likely make another positive contribution in Q3 given the recent lifts in fuel taxes.
The housing group remained at the fore, and despite our expectation for the recent deceleration to remain in a holding pattern, housing-related prices proved they haven’t found a limit just yet. The purchase of housing rose 1.1 percent q/q (3.9 percent y/y). This is still below the average of 1.3 percent q/q over the past three years and its peak of 6.7 percent y/y in Q1 2017.
Further, core and underlying inflation measures also strengthened slightly. The trimmed mean measures lifted across all levels of the trim in annual terms and the weighted median gained 0.3 percentage point to 2.3 percent y/y. The focus now turns to the RBNZ’s sectoral factor model estimate, which has ranged between 1.4-1.5 percent since Q3 2015.
"We expect the RBNZ will be looking for inflation to increase in a consistent, broad based way from here and will retain a neutral stance, signalling that the next move in interest rates could still be up or down, until it is confidence the underlying inflation pulse has strengthened," ANZ Research commented in its latest report.
